Cage Warriors 53: Alers v Salovaara, Nilsson v Scott

Feb 20, 2013

(PRESS RELEASE) -- London, England (February 18, 2013) - A NEW
featherweight champion will be crowned when Cage Warriors returns
to Scotland on Saturday, April 13.

Cage Warriors 53, which is set for Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall, will
feature the meeting of Jim Alers and
Joni
Salovaara for the CWFC title, with Mats
Nilsson and Chris Scott
also scheduled to clash on the bill for Cage Warriors Fighting
Championship’s second event of 2013.

With current champion Conor
McGregor due to vacate the belt when he makes his UFC debut on
April 6, the CWFC featherweight strap will be on the line when
Alers and Salovaara collide a week later.

Alers (9-1) had been pencilled in to face McGregor twice last year
but injuries to both fighters forced the postponement of their
scheduled bouts at CWFC Fight Night 7 and Cage Warriors 51.

A four-fight Cage Warriors veteran, Alers has retained his status
as the top contender in the organisation’s 145lbs division on the
back of impressive wins over Matteus
Lahdesmaki and Marcio
Cesar in 2012.

Salovaara (12-5) earns his shot at the title following a run of
good performances that have seen him ascend to the European top
ten.

“This is a huge fight for me and I’m really excited about the
opportunity,” said Salovaara. “I’ll give it my all and bring the
championship belt back home. My opponent is very skilled but so am
I, so this will be a tough fight for him.”

Alers, a 26-year-old Florida native, said: “I believe this belt
belongs to me. I’ve fought for Cage Warriors four times now and
I’ve come out with the win each time. Cage Warriors has been a
great promotion by giving me this chance to become a world
champion.

“I’m training hard every day with nothing but the thought of that
belt around my waist. I’m not taking my opponent or this
opportunity for granted, but I just can’t imagine myself not
winning this fight. This is my dream and he can’t stop me from
making it a reality.”

The Cage Warriors 53 card will also feature middleweight action,
with Nilsson and Scott set to begin their 2013 campaigns in
Scotland on April 13.

Nilsson (9-2-1) had been scheduled to fight Denniston
Sutherland at Cage Warriors 50 in Glasgow in December but
withdrew from the bout after sustaining an injury.

The 29-year-old Swede, who’s currently ranked ninth in Europe,
submitted UFC veteran Tommy Speer at CWFC Fight Night 3 just over
12 months ago but will be keen to rebound from a decision loss to
current TUF star Tor Troeng in
his most recent outing.

“I’m expecting this fight to be both technical and wild,” said
Nilsson. “Having similar strengths, it’ll come down to who wants it
most; who’s willing to work that little bit harder for an inch of
an advantage. I want it bad and I’m more than willing to work hard
for it.”

Scott (6-1), who joined Nilsson as an exclusively contracted Cage
Warriors fighter last month, is currently on a five-fight win
streak and is ranked as one of the UK’s top 20 middleweights.

The 30-year-old, who hails from Sunderland in the north-east of
England, has secured all six of his wins by submission.

Scott said: “I’ve watched a few of Mats’ fights and he looks clean
and clinical on the floor, as any brown belt should be. He’s fought
some very high-level fighters so I can’t wait to test myself
against him. Mats also has his own website – how cool is that?”

With many more fights still to be announced for Cage Warriors 53,
keep track of CWFC on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and
updates.